How an analyst intern’s idea became a product
Starting a new career is exciting, but what makes it meaningful is the chance to truly help people. Adam, a business analyst in Mainstreet Card, remembers a day during his Capital One summer internship when he was shadowing a customer care associate. She was on a call with a customer struggling to pay off debt because of high medical bills.
Instead of pressuring the customer, the associate offered to set up a payment plan and made sure the customer had money for essentials like rent and food first.
“She made sure everything was focused on helping him have a life before he paid us back,” Adam said.
That moment showed him just how much heart goes into Capital One’s work. So when he got the opportunity to join Capital One full-time out of school, it was a no-brainer decision.
An intern’s idea becomes reality
After graduating in 2024, he returned to Capital One through one of our rotational programs. He appreciated the structure of the Analyst Development Program (ADP) for business and data analytics roles. From networking sessions with senior leaders to hands-on learning across business lines, Adam felt supported every step of the way.
“You learn about the company, meet other new associates and get introduced to the way things work here,” he said.
Adam knows he’s making a real-world impact. During his internship, he worked on a project that enabled customers to pay their card balance with just one tap via email or text. He and two other interns researched target populations and potential value, and then pitched the idea to their team.
“We felt good about the work we were doing in our internship,” Adam said. “After I started full-time in the ADP, we were contacted about actually implementing one of the solutions we talked about in our presentation.”
He’s enjoyed seeing his work come to life and knowing that the work of a Capital One intern really can make a difference.
Connecting data insights to real customer impact
Now in his second rotation with the ADP, Adam is building his career as a business analyst for Mainstreet Card, energized by the pace and structure of his team’s workflow. Mornings often start with strategy sessions—deciding which customer or business problem to tackle, mapping out who needs to be involved and setting the approach. Afternoons shift into heads-down work: pulling SQL queries from Snowflake, combing through trends and shaping the data into slides that tell a story strong enough to guide decisions.
What Adam enjoys most is that mix of collaboration and problem solving. “There are so many new things to analyze, which I enjoy,” he said. Some days he’s leading cross-functional discussions, making sure everyone’s aligned on the path forward. Other days he’s crafting a presentation that distills complex analysis into something leaders can act on.
For Adam, it’s never just about the numbers. It’s about using data to move from point A to point B—and knowing the solution will ultimately make life better for customers. Outside of work, he channels that same drive into rock climbing sessions with friends and training runs for his first triathlon, finding balance in challenges that require both focus and endurance.
Where purpose meets career
Knowing how much Capital One invests in early talent—and how much heart goes into taking care of customers—is what keeps Adam motivated. Through every project, he sees how even one conversation or insight can influence a customer’s experience in a meaningful way.
“There’s a lot of love in the Capital One community,” he said. “Everybody just wants to see everybody else succeed.”
Ready to discover your own journey and make a real-world impact? Explore Capital One careers, including internships and early career programs at capitalonecareers.com.
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